'Blade Runner' Would Have Flopped If Not For One Movie Theater Employee's Mistake

You really can't consider yourself a sci-fi geek if you don't have at least half a dozen viewings of Ridley Scott's 1982 film Blade Runner under your belt. The wildly futuristic flick starring Harrison Ford has long been considered one of the most iconic speculative films of all time, but even hardcore fans may not realize the movie almost never happened. The cinema classic would've completely flopped if it weren't for a careless mistake.

The One And Only Harrison

Fresh off his Star Wars success, Harrison Ford was a hot commodity in Hollywood. Steven Spielberg pulled another memorable performance from him in Raiders of the Lost Ark, and the world knew he could carry a movie. That's why, one year after Raiders, a new director approached him with an offer.

Ridley Scott, The Man

That man was Ridley Scott. Throughout his years in Hollywood, he's cranked out a ton of blockbuster hits in all sorts of genres. And, he specifically carved himself out as a magnificent science fiction visionary with one particular spine-chilling tale in 1979.

Horrifying Audiences Worldwide

Fans were treated to a terrifying experience as they watched Sigourney Weaver try to fend off a horrific extraterrestrial in the sci-fi classic Alien. Scott was clearly an adept storyteller when it came to science fiction, and he wanted leading man Harrison Ford for his next big sci-fi undertaking a few years after Alien blew audiences away.

The Blade Runner Premise

Blade Runner was a bleak vision of the future where Harrison Ford played a protagonist tasked with ridding the world of rogue androids in the year 2019 — yea, pretty freakin' cool. The whole idea behind the story was incredibly complex, but Harrison had one request before he agreed to sign on.

The Original Script

Ford wasn't impressed with the story after his first read through. "I felt I was playing a detective who did no detecting,” he said. To remedy the issue, Scott agreed to remove several Harrison Ford voice overs from the script, replacing them with scenes that showed Rickard Decker investigating. They both felt good about the final version.

Can't Please The Executives

But as studio execs so often do, the people Scott pitched his idea to were not onboard with the concept. They felt the plot was too ambiguous to please a mass audience, and they had their own notes Scott was forced to abide by, much to his dismay. And, the changes were pretty awful.

Changes For The Worse

Not only was ending reformulated to make it "happy," but the director was also forced to bring Harrison Ford into a recording booth to record a voiceover narrative. The voiceover sounded like it was given by an obviously uninterested Ford, as if he was also annoyed with the decision. And, once the box office numbers came out, it was obvious the changes didn't bring any success.

Disappointing Box Office Numbers

The movie arrived in theaters at the same time as Steven Spielberg's film E.T: The Extra Terrestrial. Spielberg's film absolutely annihilated the box office numbers, raking in over $300 million while Blade Runner brought in just under $15 million. It was an utter disappointment, but little did Scott know, things were about to completely turn around.

The Snowball Starts Rolling

In 1990, eight years after Blade Runner opened to overly disappointing box office numbers, a repertory theater in Los Angeles contacted the movie studio to request a copy of the film to screen. Naturally, the studio was happy to send the 70 millimeter print to the theater, and that was the start of a very unusual — but lucky — snowball rolling.

A Big Mistake

The whole lucky tale that unfolded after the Cineplex Odeon Fairfax asked for the Blade Runner print in 1990 was detailed in an incredibly thorough report featured in the Los Angeles Times by famous film critic Kenneth Turan. In the article, he pointed out that a massive mistake was made by the director of asset management for Warner Bros., Michael Arick.

Sending The Film

Arick, after receiving the request for the print from the Cineplex Odeon Fairfax, naturally sent it to them with no questions asked. The tape he grabbed was the theatrical version of the film, which was left in an abandoned screening room. Or, so the asset director thought.

The Mistake Goes Public

Unbeknownst to Arick, he actually sent the director's cut of the film. Arick himself never took the time to watch the version he sent, assuming it was exactly the same as the one that hit the cinemas in 1982. The theater had no idea he didn't personally screen it first, and they presented it to lots of paying movie-goers.

Audiences Suddenly Rejoiced

Immediately, audiences were far more drawn into the plot than people in 1982 when the film first hit the market; the excitement that coursed through the veins of viewers was far superior. The differences between the two cuts were obvious to viewers in the best way possible.

Changes For The Best

In Scott's director's cut, the entire boring Ford voiceover didn't exist, which was the first breath of fresh air. The film also lacked the clear — and sometimes patronizing — exposition so many other films fell victim to. Scott's cut was raw and gritty and everything the audiences actually craved.

No More Happy Endings

The completely inconsistent happy ending that the studio execs forced upon Scott was also missing, and people ate it up. For a violent and action-packed film like Blade Runner to have a happy ending just didn't sit right with people who took the two-hour cinematic journey. Well, the people spoke, and Hollywood execs responded positively.

Back To The Editing Suite

Scott and his team were soon allowed to jump back into the editing studio to tinker with the film. Warner Bros. studios saw an opportunity to revive the film and earn some serious profits, so they jumped on it. The soundtrack was altered, and one vital scene was added that brought much of the plot together.

The Unicorn Sequence

In the original cut, there was a scene where Ford's character comes across an origami unicorn left for him by another character. There was absolutely no backstory as to why the unicorn was there, which confused viewers. But, once Scott added a daydream sequence where the unicorn's origin was fleshed out, everything came together smoothly.

The Odd Ending

Additionally, leaving the film's ending ambiguous has been cited as one of Blade Runner's many high points, though the original cut was incredibly melodramatic. This version sees Rick and Rachael driving down a wooded road as Rick reflects on life, with much of the footage actually recycled from The Shining.

A Far More Enjoyable Experience

Once Scott finished with all his edits, the official director's cut of the film was released to audiences in 1992. They immediately enjoyed the film far more than the studio-friendly version that came out a decade prior. Oddly enough, Harrison Ford's role outside the film also did not follow fans' expectations.

Grandfather Of Action

Harrison Ford is basically the grandfather of action films, as his acting career has spanned almost five decades — and counting! In that time, he's portrayed gallant characters whose names are widely recognized in pop culture to this day.

Starting Early

Still, he didn't start out as a hero. Ford earned his first acting role at 24 years old, playing a bellhop in the 1966 film, Dead Heat On A Merry Go-Round. Though the role was uncredited, it was the first stepping stone to the wildly successful career.

Getting In With Lucas

Eight years later in 1973, he landed a role as Bob Falfa in the George Lucas film American Graffiti. Apparently, he made an impression on the up-and-coming director, as Lucas soon fingered Ford for another project.

Then Came 'Star Wars'

That project, of course, was Star Wars. Playing the smarmy, handsome smuggler named Han Solo, Ford cemented himself as the quintessential action star. In the upcoming years, he'd go on to play more action heroes.

King Of Franchises

Ford cemented himself as the king of the franchises, assuming the leads in Star WarsIndiana Jones, and Blade Runner. And while he earned fame and fortune, it's safe to say the stereotypical, entitled aspects of mega-stardom never went to his head.

Real Life Hero

See, it turns out that Ford has taken his hero status past the silver screen, proving his willingness to be a good Samaritan. They say you shouldn't take work home with you, but Harrison Ford doesn't know the meaning of that.

Actual Pilot

While he doesn't travel through galaxies at light speed, Ford earned his pilot's license two decades ago and has logged over 5,000 hours of flight time. And like his film characters would, he puts that ability to use for the benefit of others.

Rescuing Hikers

Back in 2000, for instance, two lost Wyoming hikers suffering from dehydration were saved from a grim fate when Ford arrived in his Bell 407 helicopter. And believe it or not, this might have been one of his smaller heroic gestures.

19 Hours Lost

Let's take things back to 2001 when a curious little Boy Scout veered off the path taken by the rest of his troop in a forest near Yellowstone National Park. This lonesome Boy Scout was lost in the woods for a staggering 19 hours.

Losing Hope

The then 13-year-old Boy Scout, Cody Clawson, was missing overnight and, because of horrid freezing, snow weather, slept in a cave. By this point, he was looking to his religious beliefs for comfort.

Massive Search Party

Of course, a huge search and rescue team, which included helicopters, desperately searched for the young scout from the skies. By now, you can probably guess who piloted one of those helicopters.

Jones To The Rescue

Indiana Jones himself lived part-time in Jackson, Wyoming. As a part of the search-and-rescue mission, Ford had circled above the forest in his chopper, seeking out the lost teen with a bird's-eye view.

Braving The Woods

Meanwhile, after a frightful night in a cave with little rest, young Cody had an "epiphany" regarding his next move. Braving the cold, he started walking through the woods for miles before he finally heard search planes.

Old Boy Scout Trick

When he looked above to find Harrison Ford's helicopter grazing the clouds, Cody attempted to reflect sunlight off of his shiny brass buckle (a trick he learned from Boy Scout training) to get the airborne search party's attention.

He Was Spotted

To Cody's surprise, the helicopter team noticed the disoriented teen, and then proceeded to safely land on the peak of a nearby hill. But the biggest surprise for Cody was yet to come.

Is This Real Life?

When a relieved Cody Clawson was alerted by a search party member as to who the helicopter pilot was, he thought he was hallucinating, which wouldn't have been so weird considering the jarring scenario.

Saved By Han Solo

When Cody was brought into the helicopter, he was astonished to hear the simple two words, "good morning," come from the Harrison Ford's mouth. "I was like, 'Oh my God, Han Solo has just rescued me, how cool is that,'" Cody had said according to Daily Mail.

Merit-Worthy

Upon safely taking him to a provisional search and rescue headquarters, Ford jokingly said to the teen "Boy, you sure must have earned a merit badge for this one." When a starstruck Cody notified Ford that he had already earned that badge the previous summer, the heroic Han Solo couldn't help but laugh.

A New Perspective

Later, Cody, who is married with a child of his own, recalled how the experience was eye-opening to the reality of celebrity stereotypes. "What he did gave me a different perspective on stars," he said. "They sometimes get portrayed as snobby people, but there really is good, generous people out there."

Down To Haiti

And Cody's words couldn't have been more true, as over the next few years, Ford played the hero more than once. In 2010, for instance, Ford took his plane down to Haiti for the most incredible reason.

Earthquake Relief

After Haiti's devastating 2010 earthquake, which reached a jolting 7.0 on the Richter scale, Ford flew his plane to Haiti in order to assist with Operation Smile’s Relief effort, which offered reconstructive surgeries at no cost, at the Love a Child Health Centre.

Can't Quit

Over the course of two days, Ford had transported 20 medical volunteers, as well as necessary medical supplies. Just a few years later, he found himself leading a heroic effort once again.

Everyday Hero

In November of 2017, Ford helped save a woman whose car flipped off the road in San Paulo, California. After watching her lose control of her vehicle, Ford rushed to the scene and proceeded to pull the woman out of the mangled vehicle to safety while waiting for emergency responders.

Worthy Of His Roles

It's safe to say that Harrison Ford definitely repels the traditional snobby, self-absorbed celebrity stereotype that haunts most of LA. Perhaps Han Solo and Indiana Jones could take a few notes from the epic Ford himself.